Parsnip and Leek Soup with Crab

Seems like it's been too long since we posted something here. This was too interesting to pass up, though.

Ingredients

• scant 1 lb of parsnips, peeled and chopped into rough 1-2" pieces
• 2 small leeks or, I don't know, one large one? Chopped and rinsed thoroughly to remove the sand. (We like to float the cut leeks in a bowl of water, and the sand sinks to the bottom)
• about 1 or 1.5tsp dried thyme
• splash of white wine (or vermouth)
• olive oil
• 3c chicken stock
• 1/4c whipping cream
• lump crab meat (we got a 6oz package of "blue star" crab meat, and it wasn't too expensive - like $6).
• Juice of 1/2 a lemon
• 2tbsp butter

So toss the parsnips in some olive oil and put in a glass baking dish. Cover with foil and pop in the oven at 350 for 20 minutes. Remove from the oven and add the leeks, thyme, and wine and stir to coat. Cover back up with the foil and put back in the oven for another 30 minutes.

When that's done, put everything in a soup pot with 3c of chicken stock. Bring to a boil, then reduce to simmer for 10 minutes. When the veg are soft, blend until relatively smooth (we used an immersion blender, which worked great, but you can use a stand blender if you want a really silky texture). Return to the pot (if you took it out?) and add the whipping cream. Adjust salt and the texture - if you use low-sodium broth, I can see you needing some more salt. And if you weren't generous with the stock or if you had a few more parsnips than I did, you MAY need a little more water.

In a microwave safe bowl, melt the butter with the lemon juice. When it's melted, add the crab to the bowl and stir. Probably won't actually cook the crab, but I don't think you really need to, either (our crab meat was pasteurized and, therefore, ready to eat). Anyway, serve the soup in a bowl (or shooter, or whatever) and top with a little bit of crab.... or a lot of crab.

Thoughts: Pretty great. The flavors complemented each other really nicely. I would say my only gripe is that I felt like there is a better way to do this. Roasting the parsnips should bring out the natural sweetness, but when you leave them covered, it kind of defeats the purpose. And why roast the leeks? Maybe next time, we throw the parsnips in the oven (covered for 15, uncovered for 25?) and while they're roasting, we could saute the leeks with the thyme and olive oil in the stock pot. That makes more sense to me. EVEN SO, this was really good. Also quite easy.

Disaster Index: 1/10

Parsnip and Carrot Soup

• 2 tbsp unsalted butter
  
• 3 shallots, diced
  
• 1 onion, diced
  
• 3/4c vermouth
  
• 5-6 parsnips, peeled & chopped
  
• 2 carrots, peeled & chopped
  
• 5c chicken stock (or veg)
  
• 3/4tsp balsamic vinegar
  
• 3/4tsp salt
  
• pepper
  
• 3/4c milk
  

Melt butter in a saucepan. Add shallots and onion and saute until soft and translucent. Add the wine and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer until reduced by half - about 10 minutes. Add the parsnips, carrots, chicken stock, vinegar, salt, and pepper, and bring to a boil then reduce heat and simmer until parsnips are tender - about 45 minutes. Remove from heat and blend until smooth. Return to the pan and add the milk.

Thoughts: The original recipe called for half-and-half instead of milk, which might have been better. As it is, though, the soup was pretty great. We found ourselves adding honey or brown sugar at the end, though, because the wine and vinegar tended to overpower the natural sweetness of the parsnips. Claire liked the soup all right even though she's not a big fan of parsnips.

Disaster Index: 1/10

Maple-Roasted Parsnips

Ingredients

• 1 lb parsnips, peeled, ends cut off
• 2 tbp vegetable oil
• 4 tbp real maple syrup
• salt

Once parsnips are peeled and have the ends chopped off, cut them into thirds.
Take the middle section and cut it into halves lengthwise.
Take the largest section and cut it into fourths lengthwise.
Preheat oven to 375.
Toss parsnips in a large bowl with the oil. Toss to coat.
Add maple syrup. Toss to coat (you can use tongs if you want).
Place on baking sheet, sprinkle with salt.
Bake for 40-60 minutes, or until the sections are golden and not woody (you might have to taste one or two). Turn halfway through.
Remove from oven, dot with butter/margarine.
Eat.

Thoughts: I hate parsnips, but these were delicious. So I guess I don't hate them. Dan made these. Yay Dan! Hurrah hurray! The maple wasn't overwhelming either. It didn't make the parsnips super sweet or anything.
Maybe puree them too? After you bake them?
Also, oregano might be good on these. But I think oregano is good on almost anything. Give it a shot.

Disaster Index: 1/10